Alberta to send sheriffs to Edmonton's downtown core amid ongoing safety concerns

The Alberta government has announced a four-month pilot project that will see 12 sheriffs deployed throughout Edmonton's inner city.

The announcement came Wednesday from the government's Edmonton Public Safety and Community Response Task Force.

The task force consists of four cabinet ministers, Edmonton's police chief, two city councillors, two First Nations leaders, the CEO of outreach group Homeward Trust and two representatives from Alberta Health Services.

Task force member Mike Ellis, the minister of public safety and emergency services, said having more law-enforcement officers downtown will act as a valuable resource for vulnerable people struggling with addictions.

"Quite frankly, these law-enforcement officers can be a conduit in order to help those individuals on a pathway into wellness," Ellis said. 

"So they start into the system, they're on a journey, and then they exit the system in a better place in which they started."

Sheriffs are often tasked with providing security in courthouses and enforcing traffic and conservation laws.

Under the pilot project, the sheriffs will work alongside Edmonton police officers. The union that represents the sheriffs, AUPE, said it had no comment on the matter. 

Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee said the police service specifically requested the province bring in sheriffs to help with downtown patrols.

"We have all the right players at the table and it's my hope that this is the first of many actions that this group will take," McFee said. 

The sheriffs will be assigned at the end of the month to work in teams with EPS officers alongside the Healthy Streets Operations Centre, a community safety hub established by the city and police to deal with crime and disorder.

McFee said the patrols will span throughout the downtown core, Kingsway, Chinatown and surrounding areas. 

Alex Hrcyiw with the Downtown Recovery Coalition described the plan as a partial solution to the coalition's requests for increased policing in the downtown area.

"We know that just presence alone allows people to feel a little bit more safe and secure walking ... and just the presence alone also usually deters petty crime, violent outbursts, etcetera," Hrcyiw said in an interview.

But some Edmontonians on the front lines like Judith Gale, leader of the Bear Clan Beaver Hills House, said increased policing is not the solution to the root causes of disorder in the city.

"Policing our addicts is not the answer. It's going to make the problem fester out of control in my opinion, because it lends to an antagonistic relationship," she said.  

"We need to foster a relationship of compassion, of care, and empathy." 

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi held a news conference moments after the task force made the announcement. While more resources are welcomed, the sheriffs are just "a Band-Aid solution," Sohi said.

"Seeing more boots on the ground will absolutely help with the safety and disorder, but also we need to be very clear that the social disorder we are seeing is caused by homelessness, mental health and the addictions crisis that Edmontonians are facing," he said.

Sohi said disorder in the inner city can be attributed to a public health crisis. The province needs to be willing to focus on providing preventative measures such as safe consumption sites, safe supply, and harm reduction, he said.